Friday, December 16, 2016

History is the story of everyday people who made it through
their life—all the bumps and bruises, all the valleys and mountains, all the
glories and sunshine and flowers—made a difference in each others’ lives. I
love showing just what the everyday person can accomplish.

Besides when you came
to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The day I converted my first Muslim to Christ.

How has being
published changed your life?

I had been writing for sixty years and putting my books away
in a closet to collect dust. My first
book was published three years ago and I have written about thirty since then.
It happened months after my husband died. I had so often wondered how widows
adjust. I couldn’t imagine that kind of life. It seemed so lonely and
purposeless. It has not turned out that way. Every morning I get up and write.
And people tell me how much they get out of the books. One lady called me long
distance wanting seven copies of my latest book to give her family.

What are you reading
right now?

I just finished, The
Story Equation by Susan May Warren. I love to get deep inside the heads and
lives of my characters, and she opened up yet another way to do that.

What is your current
work in progress?

Martyrdom. I just began my research on Stephen: The Martyr. It will be novel 7 of my series “Intrepid Men
of God.” Since beginning that series
just a year ago, most of the books have remained in the top ten in their
category on Amazon. My novels are all 400-550 pages.

What would be your
dream vacation?

Go to Iraq,
Iran, and Turkey to see
ancient cities. Maybe Egypt,
too. Not interested in seeing Jerusalem because it has
been buried under the rubble of so many wars, the streets Jesus walked on are
ten feet under the surface.

How do you choose
your settings for each book?

I do a lot of research on what was going on in the world of
the Persians or Arabs or Hittites or whoever my main character is and where he
will be traveling to. I also research specific events. For example, when I
wrote Lazarus: The Samaritan who
owned a copper mine that collapsed, I read Fifty-Eight
about the men in Peru
who were buried in a copper mine for fifty-eight days and what it was like for
them. When I wrote Paul: The
Unstoppable who had been in several ship wrecks, I read The Perfect Storm.

If you could spend an
evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I would spend it with one of my Muslim converts in hiding in
Afghanistan. He has had to take him family and run for his
life more than once. Such a courageous man. So courageous. So strong.

What are your
hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I spend half a day every day teaching English over the
internet using the Bible as a text book.
I have taught some 6,000 Muslims, mostly in the Middle East, and have become
converts in hiding in Afghanistan,
Iran, Iraq, Yemen,
Jordan, Somalia, Palestine,
and Uzbekistan.
They are my heroes!

What is your most
difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

I don’t think I have any. When I sit down to write, it flows
out and my fingers cannot keep up with my thoughts.

What advice would you
give to a beginning author?

Write, write, write. Make sure your grammar is good and read
a couple books on writing, then stop reading the how-to’s and start writing.
You learn best by doing.

Tell us about the
featured book.

Michel, much like his Jewish ancestor, Daniel, is an advisor
to King Phraattes of the Parthian Empire. He decides to buy the Garden of Eden
where the Tigris and EuphratesRivers meet. It is now
completely under water and the home of marsh people. He becomes the laughing
stock of his friends.

He sacrifices everything to get it—his warrior father, his
wife, and his estate. His dream is to replant the Garden of Eden and draw
pagans on pilgrimage to it so they will learn about the one true God. Then
perhaps God will walk the earth with them in the Garden as he had with Adam and
Eve.

He is interrupted by a star that appears for awhile, then
disappears. The other magi believe it is a sign a god was born. King Phraattes
demands to know the meaning of the star, fearing it is an omen his kingdom will
be taken from him.

Michel and his friends travel the world delving into the
holy writings of world religions, trying to find the meaning of the star. How
Michel hates this interruption.

After a year of searching, they end up in Bethlehem where Michel realizes God has
already come and is walking on earth through the boy, Jesus. He goes into a
tail spin. He has lost everything to buy Eden.
What can he do now?

“It’s not logical,” Dushatra replies, double checking his
own beard to make sure none of the curls have come out in the evening breeze.

“Ha, ha,” Indus Kumar interjects. “Since you, Dushatra, and
I still have not found perfection so we can stop being reincarnated, perhaps
re-establishing the Garden of Eden with all its perfection will help us on our
way.”

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